Jam band patriarch Col. Bruce Hampton dies

Col. Bruce Hampton is shown at the beginning of “Hampton 70,” the 70th birthday concert he held at the Fox Theatre on May 1, 2017. A slew of jam-rock musicians came to honor him, including Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and John Popper. Hampton collapsed on stage during the encore and died shortly afterward at a nearby hospital. MELISSA RUGGIERI / MRUGGIERI@AJC.COM

Music was Col. Bruce Hampton’s lifeblood, and his death came hours after being surrounded by the things he loved most — family, friends, fans and an everlasting beat.

Hampton, affectionately known as the “Granddaddy of the Jam Scene,” was performing Monday night at “Hampton 70,” an all-star concert at the Fox Theatre, when he collapsed during the encore — Bobby Bland’s “Turn on Your Love Light.”

Around 7:40 p.m. Monday, Hampton opened the sold-out concert to celebrate his birthday milestone and appeared locked in a groove with his backing band as he sang with clarity, his eyes closed and his knee bouncing to the beat. His initial appearance onstage prompted a wave of appreciative hoots and whistles from the clearly adoring crowd.

RELATED: Bruce Hampton: A rebel without a chordDuring the four-hour show, musicians who came to honor his legacy — which included the avant-garde Hampton Grease Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit and the Codetalkers — included Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, John Popper, Oliver Wood, Dave Schools, Chuck Leavell, guitar prodigy Brandon Niederauer and many other rock and jam band luminaries.

Hampton, born in Knoxville, Tenn., enjoyed a varied career that ranged from his progressive jazz-rock leanings that began with his first band in 1963 to appearing in a 2014 video for “Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1” with rap act Run the Jewels.

One of his more amusing legacies is the album “Music to Eat,” released with the Hampton Grease Band in 1971 on Columbia Records. It was reportedly the second worst-selling album on the label at that time, surpassed only by a yoga album.

In the ’90s, Hampton was instrumental in shaping the H.O.R.D.E. tours with Popper, who remained a friend and performed at the Monday tribute concert.

Hampton appeared in the 1996 film “Sling Blade” as a poet and band manager.

Earlier this year, AJC freelancer Jon Waterhouse, who emceed “Hampton 70,” wrote an in-depth profile of Hampton — whom he likened to “the Dixie-fried answer to Frank Zappa” — that focused on his open-ended weekly residency at the Vista Room at Napoleon’s in Decatur.

“People don’t understand how far back he goes,” Kinney said. “He’s just the ultimate showman. He’s our P.T. Barnum. You never know when he’s going to pop out of the jack in the box.”

Colonel Bruce Hampton's death was confirmed in a statement through Tedeschi Trucks Band on social media.

A message posted Tuesday on the website of Hampton’s record label, Ropeadope, hails Hampton’s legacy as well.

“This is not just the death of a celebrity whose music touched us, this is the departure of a GIFT that we as humans had the choice to recognize and learn from. Col. Bruce Hampton was a child at every age; he was the man who tested whether you were truly paying attention to the truth.”